CAPUTO: Palace of Auburn Hills would be a good home for the Detroit Red Wings

When I first saw Joe Louis Arena, I couldn't believe how bizarre it looked. The long tube connected to the parking garage. The bland, gray facade. The steep steps leading to the front door that just beg for disaster on icy winter nights.

And it's not exactly like the arena has stood the test of time.

Joe Louis Arena is akin to an 8-track tape in an iPod -- soon to be iPad -- world.

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There are two things really good about Joe Louis Arena, though. The hockey team it houses. The Red Wings may be struggling this season, but they have delivered consistent winning seasons and championships. Those memories alone make Joe Louis Arena special. Also, there really isn't a bad seat in the house. I understand that quite well, because the press box is along the very back wall, and it is a good seat.

Yeah, when they constructed Joe Louis Arena, they forget to put the press box in. They also figured that restrooms were not important. How often have you missed the first 10 minutes of the third period waiting in line?

There is little doubt it is time for Joe Louis Arena to go. The Red Wings need a better home. So do their fans.

Yet, do the Red Wings need a new arena build at the cost of any significant taxpayer money? The Tigers received $90 million in public funds for Comerica Park, and the Lions $200 million for Ford Field.

Normally I would say yes, regardless of the economic landscape, but not this time. I don't see how it can be justified when there is a state-of-the-art arena already paid for in Auburn Hills.

Unlike Joe Louis Arena, The Palace was built to last. It is as good for hockey as it is for basketball.

Only two other cities have four different venues hosing its professional sports franchises -- Phoenix and Minnesota.

Under the circumstances, and considering how tight public funds are, the Pistons and Red Wings should as well.

Mostly, I have bought into the idea that sports venues are important ventures to help areas be competitive on a business front. But in Detroit, they need a convention center to replace Cobo Hall, or to renovate Cobo Hall, far more than another sports arena.

All the talk about Ford Field and Comerica Park, and the bonanza of big sporting events they have brought to this area is frankly overblown. Not that the Super Bowl and the Final Four and baseball's All-Star Game weren't matters of civic pride. And they did help economically, but they fell far short of solving the overall crisis we have found ourselves in recently.

My feelings on this would be a lot different if the Pistons and Red Wings were sharing Joe Louis Arena, and there was no Palace. I do understand the emotional attachment many Red Wings fans have to Downtown Detroit, and the importance of the Red Wings to many business owners in the city.

If Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch wants, like late Pistons owner William Davidson did in 1989, to build a new arena with his own money, that's different. More power to him.

And in fairness to Ilitch, he invested $145 million of his own money into Comerica Park. In fairness to Lions owner William Clay Ford, he invested $300 million of his own money into Ford Field.

What can't rationalized this time is the taxpayers kicking in. The Silverdome had become badly outdated. As much as I loved Tiger Stadium, the Tigers would have been well-served to leave it at least a decade before.

The Palace is already in place for a hockey team. It has the lower suites. It has the wide concourses. There are no issues with restrooms or parking. It's remains the model other arenas follow.

It's owned by The Palace. The Red Wings have a sweetheart deal with Joe Louis Arena. It's essentially like they own their own building. It would be a bad scenario if The Palace were to treat the Red Wings like tenants.

There has to be understanding, a common ground everyone involved would have to meet to pull this off.

But the logistics would be a lot easier than funding a new hockey arena in Detroit, when one ideally suited to the Red Wings already exists in Auburn Hills.